SUBSCRIBE:

Entrance to editor's house set on fire in Kosovo

Share

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), today condemned an attack on Mufail Limani, editor-in-chief of the Kosovo public broadcaster Radio Television Kosovo (RTK).

In the early morning hours of May 1 2013, the entrance door of Limani's private house was set on fire with a gas tank that exploded. It caused material damages, but fortunately no one was injured.

SEEMO said it was concerned at the number of press freedom violations in Kosovo in recent days.

On April 29, a team from KLAN TV was assaulted while working in the town of Malisheva. Journalist Gresa Bajqinovci and cameraman Gramos Jashari went there to report on local problems in the town. They were attacked in an apparent attempt to prevent them from recording; the assailants took the TV crew's camera. The journalist and cameraman left the town and did not complete their assignment.

Only a few days earlier, on April 22, as SEEMO reported, Gezim Bimbashi, a journalist for Kosovo public RTV broadcaster RTK, was attacked in "Sumadija" Square in Kosovo's northern town of Mitrovica. Bimbashi was beaten with wooden flag handles while reporting on a demonstration.

SEEMO urged the Kosovo authorities to protect journalists in their daily work.

"These are serious threats to freedom of expression and the work of journalists in Kosovo", SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.

"The attacks in Kosovo are becoming more intimidating and more frequent. Journalists and media in Kosovo need an environment in which they are able to work safely."

He added: "SEEMO will monitor the developments in Kosovo very closely and if necessary organise a special visit to Kosovo."

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

More from Kosovo (Serbia)

In April 2015, 60 RTK editors and journalists publicly accused Mentor Shala, the broadcaster’s general director, of censorship and mismanagement. RTK’s government-appointed board reelected Shala to another three-year term in October.

Freedom Forum monitored FoE during the elections as it concerns citizens' freedom of expression through the ballot box. Therefore, any action creating an unfavourable atmosphere for the elections is also a violation of freedom of expression.

A recent HKJA survey indicates a slight rise in the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index after two consecutive years of decline. Journalists on the ground believe that the situation has worsened in 2016, compared to the year before. HKJA chairperson Sham Yee-lan explained that the slight increase in the Press Freedom Index was likely to be related to the emergence of online media, which has led to some diversity in the industry.

This report presents the findings of a three-month study focused on mapping, observing and analysing online harassment of journalists in Hungary. The study aimed to identify the types of harassment journalists are subject to, which journalists are typically harassed, who the harassers are, and how journalists cope with harassment.

Combining both violent and nonviolent methods, the Communist Party's policies are designed to curb the rapid growth of religious communities and eliminate certain beliefs and practices, while also harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the regime's political and economic interests.

Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

Chinese authorities' enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing's decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory's autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.

Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016. Several laws were proposed during the year to increase restrictions on freedom of expression.

Freedom Forum observed a relatively peaceful atmosphere for the media this year (2016) with a significant decline in the number of press freedom violations. FF recorded only 25 incidents of press freedom violations during 2016 versus 83 in 2015.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

2016 is a highly significant year for Cambodian democracy. Looking back, 2016 marks 25 years since the conclusion of the Paris Peace Agreements (the “Paris Agreements”), which brought an end to 20 years of conflict in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”) and laid the framework for a political settlement based on human rights and liberal democracy; looking forward, 2016 marks the unofficial start of the lead‐up to the local and national elections in 2017 and 2018, respectively, as political actors across the spectrum begin to position themselves.

In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India's culture of impunity is leaving the country's press vulnerable to threats and attacks

Latin America is, by far, the most dangerous region of the world for environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). The lack of effective guarantees of human rights protection in Latin American States has created this dire situation.

Violence against journalists in Europe increased in the second quarter of 2016, reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform show, as a government crackdown in Turkey intensified and protests turned violent in countries from France to Finland.

IFEX publishes original and member-produced free expression news and reports. Some member content has been edited by IFEX. We invite you to contact [email protected] to request permission to reproduce or republish in whole or in part content from this site.